THE SITUATION OF ARABIC LANGUAGE IN AWEIL TOWN IN SOUTH SUDAN AT THE DAWN OF THE SECESSION

Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the situation of Arabic language in Aweil Town, South Sudan. It focuses on the use of Arabic language in different domains: home, public domains and folklore. The use of Arabic is investigated according to a number of independent demographic variables, including, age, gender, and level of education, and it is examined among the three generations. The study uses the descriptive-analytical method. It essentially rests on primary data collected through a questionnaire and in-depth interviews in 2009-2010; the questionnaire includes nineteen questions and is administered to 846 respondents while the in-depth interviews are carried out with 10 persons of different ages, jobs and ethnic backgrounds at Aweil. Descriptive statistics is used to describe the data.
Univariate statistics is the initial data analysis. It consists of simple frequency distribution that shows the numbers and percentages of values of one variable. Bi- or multivariate methods as cross-tabulation is used when the relationship between two or more variables have to be estimated. The results of the study revealed that Arabic is used sometimes at home, public places and in storytelling and carries out some of the ethnic languages’ functions. However, one cannot assume that the society is undergoing a tangible process of language change that may lead to language shift to Arabic as is the case in some regions of the Sudan (e.g. the Nuba Mountains); this is especially after the secession of the South Sudan in 2011.